Slayer Bring Drummer Paul Bostaph Back into the Fold

Before Slayer suffered great hardship over the recent death of founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, the group had faced the departure of drummer Dave Lombardo over money issues. The slaytanic thrash vets, however, report that they are moving forward with a familiar face behind the kit: former skinsman Paul Bostaph.

A press release from members Tom Araya (bass/vocals) and Kerry King (guitar) confirms that they have brought Bostaph back into the fold full time after spending the last 12 years apart. Bostaph had replaced Lombardo after he left the band in the early '90s and played with the group between 1992 and 2001. Bostaph's first LP with the band was 1994's Divine Intervention and last recorded with the crew for 2001's Grammy-nominated God Hates Us All. He has also played with Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic and Testament.

"Paul's a great drummer and a good friend, and we're very happy that he's decided to rejoin the band," Araya said in a statement. "We're still pretty numb from the loss of Jeff, but we don't want to disappoint our European and South American fans, and we need to begin moving forward...having Paul back in the band makes that a whole lot easier."

Bostaph added, "We spent a very intense 10 years of our lives together, had a lot of fun, made a lot of great music, so for me, this feels like coming home."

Lombardo, meanwhile, has also chimed in on the lineup switch, though apparently he's not as pleased as his successor. "And.... There you have it folks!" Lombardo tweeted of his bandmate's decision, adding, in response to a fan question, that he found out about the replacement "online."

The current lineup of Slayer also features Gary Holt, who was brought on board in 2011 while Hanneman was recovering from necrotizing fasciitis.

Bostaph's first show back is June 4 in Warsaw, Poland. You can see all of the band's upcoming tour dates over here.